I don't have a whole lot of bad things to say about Bell's. These guys are hitting great beers pretty consistently, and they have managed to get the very rare five out of five with the Two Hearted Ale. Getting a perfect score gives a brewery a certain amount of clout on my blog and in my heart. I only have one heart, unlike that beer. I'm not saying they can do no wrong, as they have had a few beers fail to win me over, but getting a perfect score will give you a pass on a lot of different sins.
Brown with a red hue and darkened to black, this beer sports a head that can be described as whipped chocolate. Eventually, that chocolate disappears, and I am left with quite minuscule bubbles just barely be dazzling the top of the glass with a slightly stronger ring around the sides. The aroma is toasted malt with light cherry seeds. The aroma carries earth and coffee with it, and I for one certainly hope that it does not delve too far into the coffee.First sip is not good. I should have anticipated going in that a beer with cherries might be a sour. This is not really fully sour, but it is quite tart. It is tart to the point that my stomach is groaning after just having had a single sip. I do not like sour beers, and apparently I don't like very tart beers either. A friend once tried to convince me that tart and sour the same things, but I believe they are distinct. This is tart. And I don't like it. There are other flavors in there, but they pale in comparison to the bad taste the cherry pits and old stems have left in my mouth.
Tip-in is not overwhelming tartness with earth and charred malt joining uneven cherry seeds. The middle shoves the tartness to the roof of the mouth while the earth and charred malt get cherry pits and stems shoved into it. The finish is a tart mess where coffee somehow comes out of nowhere to make the experience even worse.
Bottom Line: Everyone has off days.
0.25/5